“Who’s laughing now?” Ukip leader Nigel Farage calls for “grown up” deal after Brexit as he mocks MEPs to a chorus of booing
Leading Leave advocate Nigel Farage has called for a "grown up, mature" deal between the EU and UK after a historic Brexit vote last week.
Speaking to the European Parliament, Farage said trade is mutually beneficial, and that a "sensible trade deal" would result in a great friendship between the soon-to-be 27-member bloc and the UK, as he mocked MEPs.
"I'd like to see a grown up and sensible attitude to how we negotiate a new relationship. Trade is mutually beneficial. If you were to decide to cut off your noses to spite your faces and reject any idea of a sensible trade deal, the consequences would be far worse for you than it would be for us.
"Even no deal is better than the current deal we have," Farage said.
"If tariffs get reintroduced on cars, German workers would lose jobs. Let's be realistic and grown up and cut between us a sensible tariff free deal and thereafter recognise that the United Kingdom will be your friend, that we will trade, cooperate."
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During his speech Farage briefly went off-piste to state: “I know a lot of you have never done a proper job in your lives or worked in business or in trade or indeed ever created a job," which was met with heckling from a wide-section of MEPs and interrupted by President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz.
He also began his speech: "Isn't it funny. When I came here 17 years ago and said I wanted to lead a campaign to get Britain to leave the European Union, you all laughed at me. Well you're not laughing now."
Speaking in the European Parliament for the first time since the country voted to leave the EU, Farage went on to say: "You as a political project are in denial. You're in denial that your currency is failing – just look at the Mediterranean," Farage continued.
"The biggest problem you've got is that you have by stealth, by deception, without telling the truth, you have imposed a political union. When the people in 2005 in the Netherlands and France voted against the political union, you simply ignored them and brought the Lisbon treaty in through the back door."
"What happened last Thursday was remarkable result, it was a seismic result for European politics. The ordinary people, who had been oppressed, rejected the multi-nationals, rejected merchant banks, rejected big politics, and said, actually, we want our country back. We want our borders back, we want to be a self-governing, normal nation. That is what has been done and that is what must happen. In doing so, we offer a beacon of hope to other democratic states across the European Union."
"I'll make one projection this morning: that we will not be the last country to leave the EU."
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The Ukip leader was followed by French National Front leader Marine Le Pen, who celebrated the return of liberty to Europe. "Put away those sulky faces," she said.
Le Pen has already said she would like France to have its own referendum on EU membership ahead of France's presidential election early next year.
Farage and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker agreed that Article 50 of the Lisbon treaty should be triggered as soon as possible.
However, Juncker hit out at Farage for spreading lies during the campaign, but added that he has enjoyed "sparring" with him.